Friday, August 27, 2010

What's Happening?!?

It's Beads~of~Clay Bead Swap Time Again!!
I Love B~O~C Bead Swap Time!
It's a great motivator to create, and you get to swap beads with other talented and amazing bead artisans!
There was no particular theme this time, just to Have Fun!  So I decided to use my leaf mold that I created when I was in Florida in February to make some new pendants using terra~cotta clay.
After painting the background and leaves, I gently sponge the raised areas so the terra cotta clay shows through.  These pendants have a varied blue background of bright blue, sky blue and turquoise.
The pendants below have a varied light and turrquoise background and also have an additional firing with mother of pearl luster overglaze, which makes them very shiny and difficult to photograph.
A matching leaf bead will accompany the pendants.
A wonderful idea as part of this swap was to also include some beads for Beads of Courage - an organization providing innovative, arts-in-medicine supportive care programs for children coping with serious illness, their families and the health care providers who care for them.


The swap deadline is September 1st, so I've been busy all month painting away getting ready and I'm finally shipping my box out to Vanessa today to meet the deadline!  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's creations!